Amazing. Six whole days on vacation. Out of contact. Complete radio silence. You know how rare this is for me? I went somewhere warm and tropical and just relaxed with my wife. We didn’t see any films at all. I didn’t even turn on a TV the entire time I was gone. I’m back now, though, and I’ve got a lot of catching up to do in the next two or three columns, and I’m introducing some new features, as well. I love a column like this week’s, where I get to cover a lot of ground and discuss a wide variety of titles. This is what I love about DVD in general... that random collision of programming that keeps it all interesting. Coincidences like when I put MIKEY AND NICKY and THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN in on the same day, both films I had never seen before. Turns out, in MIKEY AND NICKY there’s a scene where Peter Falk and John Cassavetes go to a movie theater. The title? THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN.

I’m sending out notifications this morning to the winners in my big Valentine’s Day giveaway. You’ve got 48 hours to e-mail me back to confirm your shipping information, or I’m moving on to the next person on the list. After all, over 18,000 of you entered over the space of 15 hours. It only seems fair. I’ve been watching big gulps of TV series in the last few days... ANGEL, POPULAR, MIAMI VICE, MURDER ONE, DEADWOOD... all stuff I’ll be reviewing in one of my next few DVD SHELF columns. Movies took a bit of a back seat. Even so, I managed to fit in a couple of platters worth of stuff to review. I also took a pretty spiffy day trip recently to celebrate the release of a new DVD, which is how we’ll start today’s column.

But first, as always, I’ve got my entire DVD collection set up at DVD Aficionado, a great site that I’ve enjoyed working with. With very few exceptions, I’ve been able to find all my titles in their archives. You can check it out right here if you’re curious, and I’ve made sure to point out what was purchased, what was sent as a screener, and what was a gift.

As it was explained to me later, Steve Jobs originally proposed a building with one bathroom, something that would drive foot traffic to a central area all day long. Obviously, they’ve got more than one bathroom in the building, but just standing there and watching as everyone arrived to start their day, it was obvious that Jobs had managed the feat.

I talked with a couple of guys who were also waiting there in the lobby, guys working with Pixar on an ancillary project. They sounded just as excited talking about the company as I’m sure I did, and it struck me: for hardcore animation fans, Pixar plays the same role that the Beatles must have for music fans in the ‘60s. We are living in a golden age, watching true giants in their primes, and each new film they put out is a joy because of the incredibly high genre defining standards that they hold themselves to. I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t crazy about the teaser for Lasseter’s CARS, due now in 2006, but I know no one works harder to develop their films than this company. They have an unstoppable story department, and they work tirelessly. I’m confident that when we finally see the still-evolving film, it’ll be another tremendous winner.

By 10:30, several other reporters had arrived, and we were ready to begin the tour. We were introduced to Randy Nelson, who serves as Dean of Pixar University. Believe me when I say I mean this as a complimentary comparison... Nelson gives off a real strong Fred Rogers vibe. This guy is a true believer, and when he talks about Pixar, you get the feeling that he means everything he says, and it’s not just corporate speak that’s been impressed upon him through endless repetition.

It makes sense that he’d be in charge of the continuing education of everyone who works for Pixar. They offer classes to all of their employees, no matter what department they’re in, on all aspects of filmmaking. The theory is that they want everyone in the building to understand exactly what it is that the company does, so they can all appreciate the main goals of Pixar. The Pixar University building sits right next to the main animation building, joined by the pool and bordered by the soccer field. It’s a sixteen-acre property, just big enough that when you’re there, it’s all you can see, even though the Emeryville City Hall sits at the far end of the same block.

Nelson led us through several different galleries, featuring storyboards, color scripts and character sculptures...

... an awards case (where we were told that Lasseter’s two Oscars aren’t in the case because they live at his house, where he’s commissioned a series of seasonally-appropriate outfits for them, including an Oscar night tuxedo and matching evening gown, from a friend who designs clothes for BARBIE), gag sheets...

... and (my favorite) a set that was put together to inspire the animators on THE INCREDIBLES, a perfect recreation of the desk and wall of Mr. Incredible’s office, complete with a jar full of bent lead slugs labeled “Bullets That Bounced Off Me.”

He also led us through the section of the building where the animators actually work. Here’s where the Wonka factory comparison felt strongest. Instead of cubicles, each of the animators has a customized space. There was one guy who had this groovy corner office that was open on two sides, and he had no chair at all. He had the entire office set up so that he could work standing, like so:

That was a pretty extreme example of what someone could do with their space. A lot of the animators decided early on that they didn’t want cubicles, so instead, Pixar found these groovy little cottages that they bought for them. Walking through the animation department is like walking through a neighborhood for dwarves. Lots of little houses laid out along “streets,” each one with an address on the door.

The animators also have lounges set up so they can congregate and relax, including a jungle-themed lounge with piÃ±atas hanging overhead.

One of the most amazing things we saw was the assembled hardware required to make Pixar’s films happen. The computer brain of Pixar is as big as I’d expected, and there’s something surreal about this serene room full of rack after rack after rack of black computer boards, nearly featureless, being the place where such memorable characters as Buzz and Woody and the Incredibles and Boo and Sully all live and breathe. There’s also something HAL9000 about the entire room, and I started to get worried that the computer was reading our lips as we stood looking in at it through the window.

Our tour ended in one of the Pixar screening rooms, where there was a presentation by Ann Brilz and Osnat Shurer, who produced the DVD. They showed us some of the special features, including the sensational “Jack-Jack Attack,” a new short cartoon created especially for the DVD. I’ll review the disc content later in this week’s column, but I’ll say that the pride Brilz and Shurer had in the disc was evident, and it’s a testament to the volume of their work that they just barely showed us a glimpse of the total running time in the full hour that we spent with them.

After lunch, held downstairs in the game room where one of the walls had a great MONSTERS INC. display, we rotated through our one-on-one interview time with Brad Bird, John Walker (who produced THE INCREDIBLES), Tony Fucile, the character designer and supervising animator, as well as Brilz and Shurer. I’ll bring you highlights from those interviews next week. It was a blast to sit down with Bird again, and to chat with Fucile for the first time since a Glendale Warner Bros. store signing back around the release of THE IRON GIANT.

Time was tight, though, and traffic was terrible, so I had to hustle to make my 5:30 flight out of Oakland. By the time I got home that evening, my INCREDIBLES DVD was sitting there waiting for me on the coffee table. Perfect end to a perfect-but-oh-so-short day.

Even though it’s been a couple of weeks, I’m sure you can still guess my reason for putting on WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM. I mean, I’ve seen every inch of that excellent Criterion FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS set, and it’s beautiful... no doubt about it. Wayne Ewing’s BREAKFAST WITH HUNTER is also worth tracking down if you haven’t seen it. Of all the films that deal with the “twisted legend of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,” this Art Linson film is the most unfairly maligned. It’s got a great supporting cast of guys like Bruno Kirby and Rene Auberjonois, and it covers some truly crazy corners of HST’s career. The entire film is slightly fictionalized, mainly to alter the name of ROLLING STONE, even though it’s obvious that Bruno Kirby’s meant to be be playing Jann Wenner, who Hunter had such a legendarily contentious relationship over expense accounts. I like the movie. I like its energy. It reminds me of PRIVATE PARTS in some ways... a slightly idealized version of a media figure who was still working and in their prime while the film was being made. Hunter was a rock star when Bill Murray played him, and he was the first one to really nail down all the insane quirks that later showed up so famously in Johnny Depp’s HST. It’s obvious that both men are basing their performances on the same person. Murray got so into playing this role that he had trouble shaking it when he got back to SNL in the fall, and it’s easy to see why. It must be liberating to play Hunter at full-tilt. It’s all about being fearless and blessed and totally fucking shitfaced. Murray in the early days had a malevolent comic energy, like he’d be the best guy in the world to get drunk with right up to the moment where he insisted on beating the shit out of you. His Hunter is more of a menace than Depp’s, largely because he’s matched so ably by the freak power of Peter Boyle as Laszlo, Hunter’s attorney. The way Boyle portrays him is a little closer to the truth of Oscar Ocosta, the firebrand who Hunter was actually writing about.

I think Boyle’s even more of a wild animal than Murray, if that’s possible. He’s a bad influence with a wicked temper and unbridled id. He and Murray have very funny chemistry together, and much of the film involves the period where HST was convinced that Ocosta was dead. I like that this covers a totally different set of stories than FEAR & LOATHING. Taken together, they paint a great portrait of the mythology that HST built up around himself. The disc is completely free of extra features, and I’d describe the transfer as decent at best. It’s a discount title at under $10, though, and I’m glad to finally have the chance to add it to my collection.

My first time through watching THE INCREDIBLES, all I cared about was sound and picture. This was my favorite film last year, so I want a disc worth revisiting. I used the THX Optimizer included on Disc One of the set to adjust my 60 inch screen. I was surprised how much fine-tuning it needed. Might explain why THE FIFTH ELEMENT looked so bad a few weeks back. One thing’s for sure... after doing it, this film looked absolutely beautiful. It may well be one of the best-looking discs in my library. Watching the film yet again, I’m struck by the economy of storytelling, and by just how much movie there really is. There’s enough movie here for three regular movies, yet it somehow remains elegant in terms of overall construction. It’s never once unwieldy or obvious. There are two commentaries on the disc, one with Brad Bird and John Walker, and the other featuring several of the animators. Excellent stuff, all of it, and there are things you’ll learn each time through. The commentary tracks serve as nice complement to the extras on Disc Two without duplicating them. As Brad Bird does his introduction to the second disc and talks about his love of extra features, rest assured he’s not just saying that to move copies. I remember when I worked at Dave’s Video in the early ‘90s, and Brad was one of our customers. Everyone of us working there was a huge fan of “Family Dog,” and Brad was an avid laserdisc fan, a regular, and that long-term love of the format shows in how densely packed this disc is. It’s riddled with Easter Eggs, for one thing, several of which are classic, so keep your eyes open for random Omnidroids. They’re verrrrry important. Also, watch all of the superhero files, interactive menus like the files that Syndrome was keeping on all the supers. Some very, very smart and funny stuff in there.

The first original piece for the disc is “Jack-Jack Attack,” and it’s simply a great example of how to make a short subject. It’s as good and as pure as the Tex Avery stuff or the heyday of Termite Terrace. It’s a gagfest, a veritable symphony of gags, all centered on the long night where Kari the babysitter first learns the true nature of Jack-Jack’s special powers. Kari’s a hilarious character, and Syndrome makes a very funny special appearance, explaining the “S” on his outfit. The second original piece is called “Mr. Incredible & Pals,” and there are a lot of levels to this joke. The concept is that Mr. Incredible and Frozone both licensed their likenesses to a cartoon company back in the ‘60s, before the supers all had to go into hiding. When the scandals happened, the cartoon got shelved, so no one ever saw it. You can watch the pilot episode here, complete with terrible limited animation, bunny rabbit sidekick, and human CLUTCH CARGO-style mouths. It’s pretty damn funny stuff on its own, filled with knowing period detail. Even better, you can watch the segment with commentary recorded as Mr. Incredible and Frozone see the cartoon for the very first time after all these years. Absolutely hilarious, especially Frozone’s escalating outrage (“They made me white! I sound like a beatnik! AND WHO APPROVED THE RABBIT?!”) contrasted with Mr. Incredible’s desperation to put a good spin on everything.

There are several deleted sequences and a totally different opening to the original version of the movie (which featured a totally different villain!), all with introductions by Bird and excellent explanations of the context of everything. There are two different “Making Of” Features, both dense and informative. One of my very favorite things on the disc is “Vowelett – An Essay By Sarah Vowell,” in which she discusses working on the film with the same wry, perceptive humor she exhibits on NPR’s THIS AMERICAN LIFE. She’s great, and it’s a nice outsider’s perspective since she’s not really a professional actor.

And if you liked BOUNDIN, it’s here on Disc Two, beautifully reproduced with a director’s commentary and a short feature called “Who Is Bud Lackey?” I think it’s great that they included this tribute to one of Pixar’s best-kept secret weapons, a guy whose work I’ve evidently been watching since the early days of SESAME STREET.

Sound and picture are top-notch across the board, and the 2.39:1 anamorphic transfer is stunning. There are English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes that perfect reproduce the Oscar-winning sound mix. This is one of the year’s best discs, certainly, and a marvelous record of a film that will only improve through repeat viewings.

I haven’t made my way through the second disc of Fox’s special edition release of I HEART HUCKABEES, but I’ve watched both of the commentaries on the first disc now, as well as the film itself. Great transfer. Peter Deming’s photography is beautiful, candy-colored and bright. Jon Brion’s score sounds rich and full. The David O. Russell commentary is thoughtful and illuminating. I would say again to the movie’s detractors... there’s more here than you may want to admit. Listen to Russell as he talks about his philosophical mentors, his collaborators, the actors, and the intricacies of the plot. He’s able to clearly explain and deconstruct the film in a way that seemed elusive to many critics. Watching the film several times in a row has further convinced me that Mark Wahlberg and Jude Law, the standouts in an entirely excellent cast, gave two of the smartest, funniest, and bravest performances in anything last year, and the second commentary with the cast is a bit of a chaotic free-for-all, which seems fitting after the ways Russell pushed them to get this work onscreen.

Somehow, it seemed fitting that I followed HUCKABEES, which depends on the momentum of anarchy for much of its energy, with a great little gem from last year, THE YES MEN. Many people were outraged to me in e-mail about my support this weekend of the work of Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland. Don’t be. I think they are really clever sleight-of-hand artists. I think they create material that feels real but isn’t. I don’t trust a single thing of theirs in terms of being genuine documentary. Everything they do could easily be rigged to cause an audience reaction, without ever harming or wronging anyone. Or... it might be real. That’s the fun of it for me. If it’s not for you, I get that. Maybe you should try this film instead, since so many of the pranks that are played by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno are about pointing out dangerous anti-people corporate sentiment. There’s a deeply humane message at the heart of their hijinks, which may make it far more palatable for you.

I think the film will be a favorite for viewers of THE DAILY SHOW, because that’s what it reminds me of most. It’s just that Bichlbaum and Bonanno took their cutting commentary and turned it into performance art practical jokes instead of a TV show. The thing that amazes me most is that it took this film to introduce me to their antics. We live in a media age. The slightest rocking of the boat can cause an avalanche as the status quo struggles to reassert itself. How did two lunatics represent themselves as official spokesmen for the World Trade Organization and make appearances at conferences and media events around the world? How were they ever allowed airtime, and why wasn’t it a bigger story once the truth was revealed? Bichlbaum in particular is a brilliant natural performer. He can convince any crowd that he’s serious, no matter how outrageous or ludicrous the presentation is that he’s giving. The only audience that ever freaks out or reacts seems to be a student-filled classroom. When they appear in front of rooms full of journalists and experts, no one ever appears even remotely ruffled by the nature of what they’re saying. Directors Chris Smith (AMERICAN MOVIE, HOME MOVIE, AMERICAN JOB), Dan Ollman, and Sarah Price have done a great job of making the case for why the work of the Yes Men matters, and the disc features an audio commentary with all the directors, Bichlbaum, and Bonanno together, and they’ve included some deleted scenes that are entertaining enough. The film got an R for language, but it doesn’t feel like an R. It’s smart, and it might serve as a provocative way to start a conversation with younger teen viewers about responsibility and media “reality.” There’s an English Dolby Digital stereo track, and English, French, and Spanish language subtitles.

I’ve got a real soft spot for giallo as a genre, but more on a film-by-film basis than across the board. Lucio Fulci, for example, has made films that I love (like THE PSYCHIC, which may well be the best thing he ever touched), and he’s made films I can barely sit through (sorry, BEYOND fans... I don’t get it). Until Shriek Show put out this new 2-disc release of LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN, I’d never seen this one. It’s a good trippy murder mystery that puts me in mind of BLOW-UP or some of Brian De Palma’s early work.

Carol Hammond (Florinda Bolkan) has a disturbing dream about murdering her neighbor. It’s very surreal, but specific in certain details, and when she tells her therapist about it, Carol’s very upset. Things get worse a few days later when her neighbor turns up, killed exactly as she was in Carol’s dream. There’s a ton of evidence linking Carol to the crime scene. She’s freaked out, especially when she’s arrested by Inspector Corvin (Stanley Baker). She’s confined to a sanitarium while her husband and her father start working on her defense. When a hippie who appeared in her dream shows up in her waking life and starts to follow her, she becomes convinced that she’s going to be killed next. Inspector Corvin digs deeper, coming up with a half-dozen viable suspects. It’s a wild visual ride, totally high on ‘60’s excess, and as mysteries go, it’s clever and well-constructed. The last ten minutes do a great job of tying everything together.

There are two different cuts included here, one under the American release title of SCHIZOID. There’s only about a five minute difference between the two edits, but the longer cut turns up the nudity and the gore enough that it’s definitely the one genre fans are going to want. It’s not a flawless transfer, but it looks like they made the most of the materials available to them. Shriek Show’s put together some good extras, including interviews with the stars and with Carlos Rambaldi, who handled the film’s effects. There’s also a documentary, a gallery, the original trailer, and more. If you like giallo at all, then give this one a try. It’s a good example of what keeps fans of the genre coming back, and a nice disc overall.

I was really excited when NIRVANA showed up as part of a stack of screeners from Disney. Miramax released director Gabriele Salvatores’ most recent film, I’M NOT SCARED, last year. I fell head over heels in love with that movie, so I was looking forward to seeing this earlier film of his. I’d read that it was a cool, smart mix of BLADE RUNNER, TRON, and THE MATRIX.

Ummmmmmmmm... no.

I gave the film two separate attempts, but it’s pretty much unwatchable. Christopher Lambert plays a video game designer who is about to release his newest game, Nirvana. When he learns that the lead character in the game has come to life, he has no choice but to destroy his own program. There’s plenty of potential here, but this film is inert. There’s nothing worse than a cyberthriller written by people who appear to have never touched a computer. Nothing makes sense in the film, and there’s not a single compelling character. The film tries several major narrative twists, but it’s so uninvolving that it’s hard to care. For a mindfuck to fully pay off, you have to care about what you’re watching. Otherwise, it’s all just an empty game.

Michael Cooney was the writer of IDENTITY, James Mangold’s bizarro-riff on TEN LITTLE INDIANS from a couple of years ago. That was pretty entertaining, if a wee bit on the absurd side, and served as potent actor bait, so I can see why someone would expect one of Cooney’s plays, THE i INSIDE, to yield similar results.

Ummmmmmmmm... no.

Director Roland Richter came up empty, even with an interesting cast including Ryan Phillippe, Robert Sean Leonard, Piper Perabo, Sarah Polley, Stephen Lang, and Stephen Rea. Simon (Phillippe) wakes up in a hospital, where he’s told that he is recovering from an accident. As a result, he’s got a case of amnesia that has erased two full years from his memory. Or... did it? Simon falls asleep, wakes up again, and finds himself transported back two years, where he lies in the same hospital following a different accident. Simon begins to pinball back and forth in time, and as he does, he starts to piece together the death of his brother, an affair, blackmail, and more. The movie tries hard, and it’s good-looking, but it never really clicks. Maybe it’s too busy narratively, trying too hard to impress. Whatever the case, it ultimately becomes more exhausting than exhilarating.

Sometimes, simplicity is best. Otto Preminger’s BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING is a beautifully-made freakshow starring Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea, and Noel Coward. It’s a wonderful, lean example of film writing, and it’s exquisitely photographed in black-and-white scope. Ann Lake (Lynley) is new to London, having just moved with her four-year-old daughter Bunny. She shows up with Bunny for her first day of preschool, in a rush, and drops Bunny off. When she arrives later in the day to pick her up, no one can recall having seen her. Preminger’s first great move is how he handles the set-up of the film. We never see Bunny. Not even a glimpse. It’s handled very naturally, never drawing attention to itself. Ann goes nuts when no one can find her daughter, and her brother Steven (Dullea) gets involved. They turn the school upside down. When Superintendent Newhouse (Olivier) gets involved in the investigation, he starts to notice subtle clues in the stories of the Lakes that suggest that Bunny may not even exist. Every scene tests your ideas about what really happened, and the ending delivers the goods. The film doesn’t have to resort to crazy cutting and random surreal imagery or excessive narrative convulsions to make its point. It’s simply a smartly plotted piece brought to life with exceptional performances. This is a great example of how this sort of film is supposed to work, and the print of the film looks spectacular.

It’s been interesting watching the cult of DONNIE DARKO grow since its Sundance 2001 debut. It’s hard for me to judge what’s been done to Fox Home Video’s new release of DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT. I saw the film four times before it was released in theaters initially... once at the Sundance premiere, and then three times as it was being prepped for release... and each screening was a different cut of the film. Richard Kelly worked hard to satisfy himself and Newmarket, his distributor, and I give him credit for flexibility. He demonstrated that he was able to approach the film several different ways. Seems appropriate that every time I’ve seen the movie, it really has been different and hasn’t just seemed that way. It’s forced me to think about what DARKO is trying to say. I’ve gotta say... the commentary track by Kelly and Kevin Smith is one of the best commentaries I’ve seen in recent memory. Smith enjoys the film, obviously, but he also has great fun teasing Kelly about how much thought he’s put into everything from shot composition to song selection. Kelly makes his best case for his interpretation of what the whole film means, and Smith makes me laugh when he flat-out disagrees with some of Kelly’s conclusions. That’s why I think DARKO’s become such a cult hit. Everyone who watches it feels like they get it in a way that nobody else does. The 2.35:1 transfer is the best-looking version of this film that I’ve ever seen, theatrical or otherwise, and both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are excellent. There are English and Spanish subtitles. I haven’t seen the extras on the second disc yet, but this set’s worth buying just for the film itself.

NEW POLICE STORY is the latest Jackie Chan release, and I remember when we first ran a link to the trailer last July. I remember thinking that it looked like the first old-school Jackie in quite a while.
It’s directed by Benny Chan, who also directed GEN-X COPS and GEN-X COPS 2, as well as the Jackie film WHO AM I? The good news is that this film will feel very familiar to fans of Jackie’s HK-era stardom. The bad news is that this film will feel very familiar to fans of Jackie’s HK-era stardom. They certainly didn’t try to reinvent anything here. Basically, Jackie plays Wing, a badass, highly decorated police officer who is destroyed when a hostage situation involving other cops goes bad, and Jackie is the only survivor. Even worse, he was an arrogant jackass on the news, making claims about how quickly he’d catch these particular bad guys. Daniel Wu plays Joe, the leader of the bank robber/cop killers, and it’s a nice performance in a very broadly drawn bad guy role. He takes a personal interest in destroying Jackie’s life, and watching the cat and mouse between them is half the fun of the film. The other major character is a rookie cop (Nic Tse) with a lot of secrets who is partnered with the disgraced Wing to try and solve the case. The action in the film is all pretty good, and it builds to a suitably splashy finish with some big eye-popping stunts. It’s a good looking disc, too, from Joy Sales, a two-disc set that features both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes, as well as a widescreen transfer. It’s an all regions NTSC disc, so you don’t need to have a region-free player to be able to watch it. There’s a disc full of extras like behind the scenes footage and interviews with the actors, as well as trailers, a music video, and a photo gallery. I would recommend this one, even if I would caution you to not expect something that bests the considerable highs Jackie Chan has accomplished in the past.

And then there’s CUTIE HONEY. Hooooo, boy. Where do you even begin when you’re writing about a film like this? There are certain titles that unite audiences around the world in common cultural reactions, movies that speak to everybody. And then there are films that come from another country but which might as well come from another planet. This film is totally absolutely over the top batshit crazy, and it seems almost gleeful about it. It’s especially bizarre coming from Anno Hideaki, who created NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, one of the most dour, brutally depressing and fucked up anime series I can think of. It’s obvious that he used EVAGELION to work through all sorts of issue, and the film he made at the end of the series, END OF EVANGELION (aptly enough), features a full-blown psychotic episode-as-Apocalypse that lasts about a half-hour or so. To see him make a movie this cute and bright and plastic and pop and cheerful is like seeing comedian Steven Wright burst into song and dance. Hideaki seems to have a flair for having fun, though, because it’s hard not to enjoy yourself while CUTIE HONEY is playing. I was trying to imagine how I would describe this film to a completely non-fan, someone with no real point of reference. Sure, you can just say, “Based on the anime series,” but what if someone is unfamiliar with manga and anime?

”Okay, see, there’s this robot girl who was made from the dead girl who was the daughter of the scientist who built the robot, and he also created this collar that she wears so that she can press a button and the ‘honey flash’ will turn her into a superpowered shape-shifting superhero who fights the members of the Panther Claw clan, a group of sexually ambiguous super-powered creatures who worship a demon god named Jill. Oh, and when she’s not working, she’ll work in an office where she gets tea for everyone. And, uh, she loses her clothes. A lot.”

That actually sounds more sane than it plays, too.

I can’t imagine Warner Bros. ever growing the stones to release this film in the US. I just don’t think there’s a mainstream hunger for MIGHTY MORPHIN PERVERT RANGERS. Sure, Eriko Sato is yummy and plays up the innocent sexuality for all its worth. And Hideaki displays a zeal for all the stereotypes of anime, doing his best to make this live-action film feel exactly like an animated movie. The effects are all over the place. Some of it looks great. Some of it is no more advanced than stuff from the silent era. Overall, I can’t even keep a straight face while recommending the film. It may well be a terrible movie. I wouldn’t know. I had too much fun watching it.

First Contact's been on DVD before as a bare-bones disk. Paramount's in the process of rereleasing all of the Trek films as two disk sets. Best part of the new DVD commentary: BRAGA REVEALS HE HAS NO IDEA WHY THE BORG QUEEN SHOWED UP STILL ALIVE ON ALL THOSE EPISODES OF VOYAGER! Ron Moore flat out even asks him about it, and the guy has no explanation! (The revelation comes during the final confrontation between Picard, Data, and the Borg Queen.) Also note-worthy is Braga's admittance of his TOTAL DISREGARD for continuity when casting James Cromwell as Cochrane (that that Cromwell didn't do a fantastic job, mind you).

Cutie Honey with subtitles? Been a while since I checked, but I remember CH, Innocence, and Appleseed being announced around the same time without subtitles last year. Hmm. I wonder what the market potential of a place like Cine-East is in the midwest.

I met Enrique at Wizard World Chicago last year. Having never bought an Asian import before, he was THE man to talk with. Now I'm a regular customer. Check out their web site (www.cine-east.com). Great movies at resonable prices.

Not sure if that's what I would say exactly... maybe "angst-ridden and slightly unfocused." Certainly not as fucked up as Excel Saga or Puni Puni Poemy, or as depressing as Texhnolyze (which is still great). ANYway...

Sorry, I just watched the DVD and wanted to act like an overpaid hack who doesn't care about movies, but thinks they are witty and gets their quotes on posters and movie boxes. Now... someone pay me phat Rex-Reed-style-movie-critic-cash, dammit!

Checked out the Cine East site, and I know my way around enough Asian DVD's to be able to tell that at least some of their inventory are pirated DVD's. If you have any compunctions about buying boots, I recommend avoiding the site and checking out legitimate import shops like DVDAsian.com, Aznfilms.com, and Yesasia.com.

Hell man, that's all this site used to be... Before we even knew anyone's name, it was all nicknames and characters... I like it better now, but it's nice every now and then to remember the old days... You know, when no one actually paid attention to these guys.

The bluetights site was registered over a year ago by Justin, and recently just merged with the content of Superman-V.com run by Dan-el and which has been registered by an Ausie fan since 2003. You can do a google cache search on each one if you want. Warners obviously went for an established group of fans and gave them access to content, etc for the new film. Its been done before, remember Fandom.com Sorry mate, no big conspiracy here.

i recently bought, watched, then speedily returned my copy of oldboy. glitchy piece of dreck, that was. it took awhile to load up, only had 2.0 sound, & started stuttering around the 40 minute mark. it's product like this that compelled me to finally buy an all-region player.

if u live in l.a., a few minutes east of downtown in the san gabriel area is a small but plentifully stocked dvd store called fivestarlaser. they mostly carry hk titles, but also have a good selection of region 3 korean/japanese flix, too. better prices. there's a nearby rental store going by the same name. tell them j cruz sent u.

is an adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. Some things got lost in translation. I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everyone. You kind of have to know what you are getting into before getting into it. Most Lovecraft fans appreciate it for what it tries to do. I personally prefer the American version of the film...Seven Gates to Hell, which is absolutely hilarious. The dubbed voices are some of the worst I've ever heard and the Shaft music is downright distracting. If you get a chance, Moriarity, you should check out that version. I think you'll come to appreciate the original more. You should also read the Lovecraft story it's based on if you have the chance. I'm saying all this not to necessarily defend the film (Fulci has certainly made better) but to clue you in on dimensions of the film you might be missing out on. Also too, how can talk Fulci without mentioning Zombi 2. Dude. Zombies wrestling sharks! Now that's the shit.

There is currently no legal version available on DVD with English subtitles of Cutie Honey. So yes, the version on Cine-East is a bootleg. I personally don't have a problem with bootlegs. However, I think it's kind of fucked up that sites like Cine-East are allowed to make 20 dollars per copy while other sites that offer these bootlegs as free downloads get shut down. I mean, since when is making money from other people's work not as bad as sharing it for free? Anyway, the movie rocks. Go get yourself a good P2P program and download it. Then buy it when a legal release with English subs comes out and we will all live happily ever after.

what happened? why did Dave's close down? that place kicks ass.I used to buy my laserdiscs there( I got to meet Kevin Smith twice when he did his dvd signings there). Its funny you mentioned two stores that no longer exist( the other is the WB store in Glendale). Too bad i was too young when Iron Giant came out to care who Brad Bird was.

...unless you want to change settings for every disc. THX Optimizers are designed for the corresponding title ONLY, so I'm sure your Incredibles looked great -- but now try comparing those settings with the THX optimizer on, say, Fight Club; they'll be way off. Use the AVIA DVD, and remember that each player needs its own individual calibration. You'll be surprised how the settings vary among different players (even if they're connected to the same TV).

Would that be one bathroom for both men and woman? It not only would have increased foot traffic to one area but also the risk of members of the opposite sex catching glimpses of each other's tools and tatas? Friggin pinhead.